Republican Tony Hwang addresses party members Tuesday night at the Flipside Restaurant after unofficial, multi-town returns gave him an apparent victory in his 28th Senate District race against Democrat Kim Fawcett.The two Fairfield state representatives squared off in a contest to succeed GOP state Sen. John McKinney.
Photo: Genevieve Reilly / Fairfield Cit

Republican Tony Hwang addresses party members Tuesday night at the...

Democrat Cristin McCarthy Vahey speaks with Fairfield Board of Education Chairman Philip Dwyer Tuesday night as local party members charted election returns. Vahey, a selectman, is apparently headed to the statehouse to represent the 133rd House District after unofficial returns had her outpolling Republican Carol Way.
Photo: Genevieve Reilly / Fairfield Cit

Democrat Cristin McCarthy Vahey speaks with Fairfield Board of...

An image from one of the latest commercials released by the Tom Foley campaign.
Photo: Contributed Photo

An image from one of the latest commercials released by the Tom...

The Secretary of The State's office gets handwritten vote tallies faxed in from towns across the state. This is Ansonia's faxed in vote results from Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2014.
Photo: Contributed Photo

The Secretary of The State's office gets handwritten vote tallies...

The Secretary of The State's office gets handwritten vote tallies faxed in from towns across the state. This is Ridgefield's faxed in vote results from Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2014.
Photo: Contributed Photo

The Secretary of The State's office gets handwritten vote tallies...

The Secretary of The State's office gets handwritten vote tallies faxed in from towns across the state. This is Stamford's faxed in vote results from Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2014.
Photo: Contributed Photo

The Secretary of The State's office gets handwritten vote tallies...

The Secretary of The State's office gets handwritten vote tallies faxed in from towns across the state. This is Ansonia's faxed in vote results from Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2014.
Photo: Contributed Photo

The Secretary of The State's office gets handwritten vote tallies...

The Secretary of The State's office gets handwritten vote tallies faxed in from towns across the state. This is Ansonia's faxed in vote results from Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2014.
Photo: Contributed Photo

The Secretary of The State's office gets handwritten vote tallies...

The Secretary of The State's office gets handwritten vote tallies faxed in from towns across the state. This is Bridgeport's faxed in vote results from Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2014.
Photo: Contributed Photo

The Secretary of The State's office gets handwritten vote tallies...

The Secretary of The State's office gets handwritten vote tallies faxed in from towns across the state. This is Derby's faxed in vote results from Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2014.
Photo: Contributed Photo

The Secretary of The State's office gets handwritten vote tallies...

The Secretary of The State's office gets handwritten vote tallies faxed in from towns across the state. This is Trumbull's faxed in vote results from Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2014.
Photo: Contributed Photo

The Secretary of The State's office gets handwritten vote tallies...

The Secretary of The State's office gets handwritten vote tallies faxed in from towns across the state. This is Trumbull's faxed in vote results from Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2014.
Photo: Contributed Photo

The Secretary of The State's office gets handwritten vote tallies...

The Secretary of The State's office gets handwritten vote tallies faxed in from towns across the state. This is Greenwich's faxed in vote results from Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2014.
Photo: Contributed Photo

The Secretary of The State's office gets handwritten vote tallies...

Long lines await voters at Westover Elementary School in Stamford, the polling location for districts 8 and 10 on Election Day, November 6, 2012.
Photo: Chris Preovolos

Long lines await voters at Westover Elementary School in Stamford,...

Long lines await voters at Westover Elementary School in Stamford, the polling location for districts 8 and 10 on Election Day, November 6, 2012.
Photo: Chris Preovolos

Long lines await voters at Westover Elementary School in Stamford,...

Long lines await voters at Westover Elementary School in Stamford, the polling location for districts 8 and 10 on Election Day, November 6, 2012.
Photo: Chris Preovolos

Long lines await voters at Westover Elementary School in Stamford,...

Long lines await voters at Westover Elementary School in Stamford, the polling location for districts 8 and 10 on Election Day, November 6, 2012.

Photo: Chris Preovolos

Long lines await voters at Westover Elementary School in Stamford,...

Long lines await voters at Westover Elementary School in Stamford, the polling location for districts 8 and 10 on Election Day, November 6, 2012.
Photo: Chris Preovolos

Long lines await voters at Westover Elementary School in Stamford,...

Long lines await voters at Westover Elementary School in Stamford, the polling location for districts 8 and 10 on Election Day, November 6, 2012.
Photo: Chris Preovolos

Long lines await voters at Westover Elementary School in Stamford,...

Long lines await voters at Westover Elementary School in Stamford, the polling location for districts 8 and 10 on Election Day, November 6, 2012.

Photo: Chris Preovolos

Long lines await voters at Westover Elementary School in Stamford,...

Long lines await voters at Westover Elementary School in Stamford, the polling location for districts 8 and 10 on Election Day, November 6, 2012.
Photo: Chris Preovolos

Long lines await voters at Westover Elementary School in Stamford,...

Long lines await voters at Westover Elementary School in Stamford, the polling location for districts 8 and 10 on Election Day, November 6, 2012.
Photo: Chris Preovolos

Long lines await voters at Westover Elementary School in Stamford,...

Long lines await voters at Westover Elementary School in Stamford, the polling location for districts 8 and 10 on Election Day, November 6, 2012.
Photo: Chris Preovolos

Long lines await voters at Westover Elementary School in Stamford,...

Long lines await voters at Westover Elementary School in Stamford, the polling location for districts 8 and 10 on Election Day, November 6, 2012.
Photo: Chris Preovolos

Long lines await voters at Westover Elementary School in Stamford,...

Long lines await voters at Westover Elementary School in Stamford, the polling location for districts 8 and 10 on Election Day, November 6, 2012.
Photo: Chris Preovolos

Long lines await voters at Westover Elementary School in Stamford,...

Long lines await voters at Westover Elementary School in Stamford, the polling location for districts 8 and 10 on Election Day, November 6, 2012.
Photo: Chris Preovolos

Long lines await voters at Westover Elementary School in Stamford,...

The Secretary of The State's office gets handwritten vote tallies faxed in from towns across the state. This is Danbury's faxed in vote results from Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2014.
Photo: Contributed Photo

The Secretary of The State's office gets handwritten vote tallies...

The Secretary of The State's office gets handwritten vote tallies faxed in from towns across the state. This is Ridgefield's faxed in vote results from Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2014.
Photo: Contributed Photo

The Secretary of The State's office gets handwritten vote tallies...

The Secretary of The State's office gets handwritten vote tallies faxed in from towns across the state. This is Ridgefield's faxed in vote results from Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2014.
Photo: Contributed Photo

The Secretary of The State's office gets handwritten vote tallies...

The Secretary of The State's office gets handwritten vote tallies faxed in from towns across the state. This is Stamford's faxed in vote results from Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2014.
Photo: Contributed Photo

The Secretary of The State's office gets handwritten vote tallies...

The Secretary of The State's office gets handwritten vote tallies faxed in from towns across the state. This is Stamford's faxed in vote results from Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2014.
Photo: Contributed Photo

The Secretary of The State's office gets handwritten vote tallies...

Walter Modliszewski of Tolland starts a chant of "four more years" after the announcement of Barack Obama's re-election at Murphy headquarters at the Hilton Hotel in Hartford on Tuesday, November 6, 2012.
Photo: Brian A. Pounds

Walter Modliszewski of Tolland starts a chant of "four more years"...

Walter Modliszewski of Tolland starts a chant of "four more years" after the announcement of Barack Obama's re-election at Murphy headquarters at the Hilton Hotel in Hartford on Tuesday, November 6, 2012.
Photo: Brian A. Pounds

Walter Modliszewski of Tolland and Estella Knight of Hartford embrace after learning of President Barack Obama's re-election at Chris Murphy headquarters at the Hilton Hotel in Hartford on Tuesday, November 6, 2012.
Photo: Brian A. Pounds

Walter Modliszewski of Tolland and Estella Knight of Hartford...

Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Linda McMahon walks with her ballot in hand while voting in Greenwich, Conn., Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2012. McMahon and Democratic opponent Chris Murphy are vying for the Senate seat now held by Joe Lieberman, an independent who's retiring.
Photo: Charles Krupa, AP Photo/Charles Krupa

Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Linda McMahon walks with her...

Walter Modliszewski of Tolland and Estella Knight of Hartford embrace after learning of President Barack Obama's re-election at Chris Murphy headquarters at the Hilton Hotel in Hartford on Tuesday, November 6, 2012.
Photo: Brian A. Pounds

Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate Chris Murphy votes while holding son Rider in Cheshire, Conn., Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2012. Murphy and Republican opponent Linda McMahon are vying for the Senate seat now held by Joe Lieberman, an independent who's retiring.

Photo: Jessica Hill, AP Photo/Jessica Hill

Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate Chris Murphy votes while...

Sen. Richard Blumenthal shakes hands as he takes the stage for Chris Murphy's victory speech at the Hilton Hotel in Hartford on Tuesday, November 6, 2012.
Photo: Brian A. Pounds

Sen. Richard Blumenthal shakes hands as he takes the stage for...

Sen. Richard Blumenthal shakes hands as he takes the stage for Chris Murphy's victory speech at the Hilton Hotel in Hartford on Tuesday, November 6, 2012.
Photo: Brian A. Pounds

Workers, including Brenda Rodriguez, center, field calls from neighboring states where voters displaced by Hurricane Sandy look for polling places as part of the National Association of Latino Elected Officials at the Hispanic Center of Greater Danbury Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2012.
Photo: Michael Duffy

Olivia DeMoura, 10, offers flag-decorated cupcakes to a customer at the Broadview Middle School polling place Tuesday morning, Nov. 6, 2012.
The Global Endeavers club at Broadview used the Election Day bake sale to raise money for a group trip to Florida.
Photo: Carol Kaliff

Voters queue up at the Southbury Fire Department Tuesday morning. The early turnout was so strong that the moderator brought in a second tabulating machine to take completed ballots
Photo: Jacqueline Smith

George Rodriquez, right, greets voters after handing in their ballot with " Thank you for Voting. Have a good day " at Geraldine Johnson School polling location in Bridgeport on Tuesday, November 6, 2012.
Photo: Unknown, B.K. Angeletti

Signs line the sidewalk of the Geraldine Johnson School polling location in Bridgeport on Tuesday, November 6, 2012. Many of the signs call for a "yes" vote on a charter-revision referendum that would give the mayor power to appoint the school board.
Photo: Unknown, B.K. Angeletti

Signs line the sidewalk of the Geraldine Johnson School polling...

Mayor Bill Finch, right, votes at the Black Rock School polling location in Bridgeport on Tuesday, November 6, 2012. The Mayor gives a thumbs up referring to signs that call for a "yes" vote on a charter-revision referendum that would give the mayor power to appoint the school board.
Photo: Unknown, B.K. Angeletti

Signs line the sidewalk of the Black Rock School polling location in Bridgeport on Tuesday, November 6, 2012. Many of the signs call for a "yes" vote on a charter-revision referendum that would give the mayor power to appoint the school board.
Photo: Unknown, B.K. Angeletti

Michael Mears and Dorothy Domeika, former members of the Representative Town Meeting, and former state Rep. Thomas Drew outside Roger Sherman School on Tuesday morning to show support for candidates in Tuesday's election. Fairfield CT 11/6/12
Photo: Andrew Brophy

According to unofficial figures, Murphy received about 53 percent of the vote to McMahon's 45 percent.

For the second straight election Connecticut Democrats celebrated the fact their candidate -- in this case Murphy -- had beaten back millionaire Linda McMahon's self-funded campaign for U.S. Senate.

"Tonight we proved that what matters most in life is the measure of your ideas, is the measure of your determination, is the measure of your friends, not the measure of your wallet," Murphy said to the thunderous applause of his supporters, taking the stage shortly after 10 p.m.

Murphy's staff said McMahon called to concede around 9:50 p.m.

"One hundred million and nothing to show for it," former state Sen. Andrew McDonald, D-Stamford, said after the race was quickly called for Murphy about a half hour after the polls closed.

"From election to election we as Democrats need to understand what this is about is our family coming together and deciding that no one could buy us out," Malloy told the cheering group.

McMahon, whose family owns Stamford-based World Wrestling Entertainment, spent $50 million on her losing bid in 2010 against Blumenthal and was close to sinking an equal amount into this year's campaign.

"It speaks volumes about the sophistication of the Connecticut electorate," McDonald said.

First returns had Murphy well ahead of McMahon. With only 21 percent counted, the six-term 5th District congressman led with 139,070 votes to her 114,439.

Murphy's victory came after McMahon spent the summer hammering him with negative ads while trying to improve her own image with the voters that turned her away two years earlier.

And for a while the strategy worked. Democrats freely admitted they were more concerned about Murphy than Blumenthal because he did not share the latter's name recognition.

Blumenthal was a 20-year veteran of the Attorney General's office when he faced McMahon, and even then there were moments that it appeared his political career was in jeopardy.

As she did with Blumenthal, McMahon identified potential weaknesses for Murphy and used her army of campaign consultants to fan them into potential scandals. She hammered away at Murphy's attendance record in Congress and at missed mortgage and tax payments from when he was still serving in the state legislature.

Reliably blue Connecticut was suddenly being rated a toss-up state by political observers.

But then the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, organized labor and others came to Murphy's aid, bolstering his own resources and giving him the opportunity to begin introducing himself to voters.

Murphy also had solid performances in his four televised debates with McMahon. And by late summer and early fall he began to pull away from McMahon in the polls.

Blumenthal during a campaign stop with Murphy in New Britain Tuesday acknowledged McMahon's rise, then gradual fall, was similar to what happened during their race.

"I think there is a limit to the effect of excessive negativity ¦ That lies and distortions have a limited shelf life when they're done to excess (and) they are exposed for what they are with the truth," Blumenthal said.

"Her high point has always been when she launched a deluge of distortion and deception and then there was an opportunity to rebut it," Blumenthal said. "A little bit like a trial, after the plaintiff presents a case, the jury may think, wow, that's overpowering. Then they hear the other side. And I think that's what happened here. Plus, just the excess. Too much. People are sick of the ads."

John Olsen, head of the Connecticut AFL-CIO, during the celebration at the Hilton Tuesday, believed the fact McMahon's ads were almost on constant rotation during storm coverage of Hurricane Sandy hurt her.

"I think the storm hurt her pretty badly. All you saw was negative, negative, negative ¦ She had too much money," Olsen said.

Democrats were also infuriated by McMahon's efforts over the last few weeks to woo independents by urging Obama supporters to split their ticket and also back her as an "independent."

Then on election day her poll workers donned purple shirts touting an Obama/McMahon alliance eerily similar to the shirts worn by labor union workers out working for Murphy and other Democrats.

Cambar Edwards of Hartford was one of those SEIU workers proudly sporting her purple shirt at the Hilton, emblazoned with Murphy and Obama stickers "That was very deceiving, dishonest and trying to play up on the unions," she said.

Matt Oakes of East Hartford, who was one of the longshot candidates in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, said he made sure Tuesday to canvass in urban neighborhoods where McMahon had been playing the Obama card.

"I was worried because of the things she was doing in minority neighborhoods that voters would be confused by her tactics. But it backfired in the long run," a jubilant Oakes said at the Hilton.

Cheers and shouts of "Murpny, Murphy" erupted in the main ball room of the Hartford Hilton when the race was called.

"I'm ecstatic," said Matt Oakes of East Hartford, who was one of the long shot candidates in the five-way Democratic primary and subsequently endorsed Murphy.

Oakes said he was angry over the misleading mailers the McMahon campaign left in urban neighborhoods portraying her as an ally of Democxratic President Barack Obama. He campaigned in some of those areas today trying to set the record straight.

"I was worried because of the things she was doing in minority neighborhoods," Oakes said. "That voters would be confused by her tactics. But it backfired in the long run."

Also among the crowd was Rabbi Doniel Ginsberg, of Waterbury, who delivered the invocation at Gov. Dannel Malloy's swearing in last year.

"That's incredible," he said of the race being called so soon. "They're still in line in Waterbury."

A constituent of Murphy's in the 5th Congressional District for the past six years, Ginsberg said, "He's a man of high morals. Ethics. I"ve known him for many years."

Former state Sen. Andrew McDonald, D-Stamford, current chief counsel for Malloy, said he thought it would take longer to learn the results.

"I thought the evening was going to be longer than it turned out to be," McDonald said. "It's a happy development."

Referring to the professional wrestling fortune McMahon sunk into her two failed Senate bids, McDonald said, "One hundred million in and nothing to show for it. IT speaks volumes about the sophistication of the Connecticut electorate."

First returns had showed Murphy well ahead of Republican Linda McMahon. With 3 percent counted, Murphy led Republican Linda McMahon with 17,861 to her 9,762.

The marquee races in Connecticut started off with the U.S. Senate clash between Murphy and self-funded Greenwich wrestling mogul McMahon.

McMahon entered the homestretch of the nationally-watched race on pace to match her $50 million personal investment from two years ago for an aggregate of $100 million.

Supplanting former presidential candidate Ross Perot as the top self-funder of all time for federal office, McMahon, 64, tapped her family's wrestling fortune for a familiar television advertising and direct mail blitz.

Murphy also made the most of the free media exposure offered by their four televised debates. Though both candidates could be faulted for not answering some of the questions posed, Murphy received positive reviews while McMahon was criticized for not appearing to know the issues and sticking to her talking points.

Women, who went 60 to 40 for Blumenthal in 2010, represented the most coveted bloc of the electorate for McMahon this time.

McMahon's campaign invested considerable money and resources targeting female voters, from coffee talks to establishing a presence on websites frequented by women such as Pinterest.

The so-called "war on women" at play in the presidential race trickled down to Connecticut's Senate tilt, with McMahon's foes saying she profited from the degradation of women and that she would enable right-wingers in rolling reproductive rights such as Roe v. Wade if elected to the Senate.

By a wider margin than in 2010, when she won a three-way primary, McMahon dispatched former Congressman Christopher Shays for the GOP nomination with 76 percent of the vote. Murphy comfortably defeated former Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz in the Democratic primary.

McMahon bypassed most newspaper endorsement boards and limited her exposure to reporters through the race.

McMahon secured the Independent Party line on the ballot to combat what her campaign felt was a built-in advantage for Murphy, who was cross-endorsed by the Working Families Party.

Alienating some members of the GOP establishment, McMahon ran television commercials encouraging supporters of President Obama to split their ballots and vote for her.

McMahon appeared to peak in late August, when the Quinnipiac University Poll staked her to a 3-point lead over Murphy, who was bombarded by television ads attacking his 20 percent attendance record at committee hearings during his first term in Congress.